Minutes later, I was still wrapped tightly in his arms, his breath ragged and warm.
The weight of his body pushed me deep into the mattress. My body relaxed at the sensation of his heartbeat syncing with my own, and our breathing becoming calmed and satisfied. Yes. This is why I was here.
He rolled over, kissed me softly on the cheek.
“Shit.”
Opening one eye, I looked at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Fucking condom broke,” he said, holding it up for me to see. The rip wasn’t big, but it was there. I groaned.
Shit, indeed.
***
I was too hot.
Even before I opened my eyes, I realized I was sweating and quickly understood why. It was Ace, and he felt like a heater, wrapped around me like a glove. We’d fallen asleep that way, pressed together tightly, his fingers digging into my skin.
Something was bothering him. I knew him well enough to know that something big was on his mind.
Shifting slightly, I was able to lean back enough to see his face. I always loved to see him this relaxed. He looked so young this way. None of the troubles that had been plaguing him for so long.
One of his eyes cracked open just a little, then a smile grew on his face. “Good morning.” His sleepy voice was so sexy it made me smile, I melted to finally hear it again after so many months.
“Good morning.” I worked to disentangle myself from him so I could stretch out the kinks from sleeping so confined.
“Thank you,” he whispered and leaned closer, kissing me on the tip of my nose.
“For what?”
“For being here.” Something clouded in his eyes.
I scooted up in the bed, pulling the sheet around me. “Ace, what’s wrong? You can talk to me, you know.”
He chuckled. It was his nervous laugh. I’d learned to read his moods from these little sounds. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just glad you’re here.”
I wasn’t sure I believed him. In fact, I knew I didn’t. He’d never held me so tightly before, and never for the entire night. His eyes were filled with something new, something I’d never seen before. I just wanted to help him.
Whenever he mentioned his mom, that same sadness filled his eyes. I knew she’d been gone for years, so it had to have something to do with family. “Is everything okay at home?” I asked.
“Yeah. I have the maid service coming in twice a week.”
I smiled at the misunderstanding. “No. I mean at home. With your family.”
His head pulled back, surprised. Then the sadness and a flurry of other emotions were back. He rolled over and sat up on the side of the bed before admitting, “It’s my dad.”
One night, we’d both spoken about our families and were surprised at how much we had in common. Both our moms had died, and both of our dads were assholes. But I was fortunate to have a good relationship with my sister while he was mostly estranged from both of his siblings.
“Did something happen?”
On the night we talked, he told me about standing in the batting cage for hours, trying to please his old man. Ace had tried to make it all a joke, but I could tell how much his younger years haunted him still. How to this day, he yearned to please the man who could never be pleased.
“My sister called. She said he’s dying.” He spoke so nonchalantly about his father’s imminent death, it was heartbreaking.
“I’m so sorry.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Yeah. It is what it is.”
“Are you going to see him?”
He turned to look at me. “If he makes it until spring training is over, I guess. If not, I’ll go to the funeral.”
Tears formed in my eyes. I hated knowing he was in such pain. His tough exterior was just that, an exterior. I truly believed I was the only woman who’d ever seen the soft side of Ace Newman. Which was one of the reasons he continued to push me away.
“I think it’d be good for you to see him,” I said, knowing I was overstepping my boundary. But it was true and needed to be said. “Maybe you could gain some closure.”
He huffed and stood up, giving me an excellent view of his fine ass. He paced to the sliding glass door and shoved the curtain aside, letting the bright sun stream into the room.
Wrapping the sheet around my body, I walked up to him, pressing my face into his back. He stiffened, then relaxed and turned to hold me in his arms.
“Would you go with me?” he asked, his lips in my hair.
Tears pricked the back of my eyes, and I blinked them away. “Yes. Of course.”
I was surprised that he wanted me with him on such a personal journey. As friends, I reminded myself.
He took a long shuddering breath, and when he exhaled, I felt him change, literally transition back into the Ace of yesterday. When I looked up at him, the smirk was firmly back in place, the sarcasm in his eyes.
He slapped my ass and stepped away, heading toward the bathroom. “I gotta go, darlin’,” he said in that familiar drawl. “Order up room service, anything you want is on me.”
I sighed and turned to the window as the door clicked shut behind me, gazing out onto the blue ocean stretching to meet the blue of the sky.
The waves rushed in and the waves rushed out.
Just as Ace rushed in and out of my life.
CHAPTER TEN
Ace
The water splashed onto my face, dripped from my goatee, and fell onto the shower floor as I watched it roll to the drain. I was still surprised at how accurately Holly had read me. I’d need to be more careful about showing my emotion in the future.
The thought of laying eyes on my old man filled me with fear, pain, and… a little bit of pleasure. I made it! Surely to fuck he’d have to admit that I’d done good.
Fuck.
It pissed me off that I even hoped for that.
I turned the shower until it was at its coldest setting and forced myself to stand under the freezing sting until I no longer cared what anyone thought. I was shivering by the time I turned the water off, even though I still felt like a furnace inside.
Why did it even matter if the old man was proud of me?
Fans screamed for an autograph. Women screamed for me to fuck them. My bank account was overflowing. I didn’t need my daddy to smile at me or pat me on the head or…
“Stop it,” I said to the mirror as I toweled myself off. I was driving myself insane.
I needed to focus on baseball right now. I had four more grueling weeks of training and exhibition games that required my total focus. I needed to stay sharp. This was my first look at this season’s other teams, the other players. My chance to read them, learn their weaknesses and find ways to limit their strengths. This was war. There was no time for fear during war.
Holly had fallen asleep while I showered and pulled myself together. Her body was tangled in the sheets, her left leg sticking out. My eyes followed her shape, taking in every curve, but focusing on her face, the small smile playing on her lips.
What was it about her I couldn’t shake?
Grabbing my bag, I shut the door softly behind me and eased out into the hall. Just my luck, Luke’s door opened, and he stepped out with a barely dressed Anna who was practically humping his leg.